Gator

Leftovers from lunch? You might think I'm kidding, but...

Yeah, I mean how can it? You can purchase walleye fillets from Palmer's, and they don't restrict how many fillets you can buy, nor do they get arrested for having over their "limit". I don't really understand possession limits at all. The number of fish of a species you can transport or control? What does that even mean?

I'd like to extend a huge thank you to all of the guys who work their butts off to set up, maintain, and run the pen projects, both at my home port of Sandy Creek and across the other ports - I know that many of them are active on LOU. Your efforts are noted and truly appreciated!

Most years I'd kill for green water. Temperature is key, but water color makes a huge difference in how spooky the fish act. Slide out to that green water in 20-40 ft depths and you may be surprised by what nails your divers, even when they're close to the boat. I'd do that in a heartbeat over muddy shoreline.

You guys just let me know when it's time to buy the rocking chairs and where to put them . Until then, make sure I get up-to-date reports...

What Brian said: where the 62 degree water hits the bottom. They could be up or down in the water column, but that's the contour to try first. We find that Dreamweaver SS and Savant Jake 45 spoons account for most of our fish.

Make sure there's a fresh battery in the probe and that you have power to the head unit. Ours starts to read once it's a foot or so down. Also, make sure that the probe stays dry in storage. Once, we had it stored somewhere that it got submerged from rain, and that ran the battery down to nothing inside of a week.

We were down there ten days ago and they were thick then.

You may be right. I hadn't thought of it in that way. I guess the class of real sportsmen on this site produces a bit of internet reverb. We might have different approaches to the problem, but we're rarely the cause of it. Good point.

The harder you have to work for something, the more you value it. Value equates to respect. Conversely, when something is easy, you tend to take it for granted. Unfortunately, access to fish in streams is easy, and it brings out a certain breed that you don't see when the juice requires more squeeze. Let me be clear though - this is IMHO a minority of trib anglers. Enforcement is part of the equation, but changing the culture is a bigger part, and it doesn't pay immediate dividends. Discussions like this help,

https://flexcoat.com/shop/finishes-and-adhesives/thermal-plastic-tip-top-adhesive https://www.amazon.com/Fuji-AG1C-World-Melt-Glue/dp/B0020H2BG2/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=fuji+tip+tip+glue&qid=1554371718&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-2 You'll never be able to remove them with super glue...unless you're Legacy. He's Batman...

Awesome news! They got hit hard by those two tough winters and it's great to see them bouncing back.

I personally haven't, but if you're concerned about it then you might feel differently than me. How do you react when a raging king lunges through the lines and starts screaming sideways toward the copper? I just giggled madly and hold on . I think it's a matter of perception. What's your tolerance for crap getting out of control? And remember, sometimes there's no rod in the world that's going to let you put the brakes on a fish. Most of the fish we lose are due to issues that have nothing to do with the rod. For example, there's a moment when big paddles break to the surface that's dangerous no matter what, but I don't think the rod matters at that point so much as simply keeping it tight. The only concern that I've ever had is being undergunned and exhausting a fish beyond where you could ethically release it. That's why I don't fish noodle rods on the tribs. But again, I've seen long protracted battles on pool cues and short, efficient fights on much smaller rods. A shorter rod lets you really lean on a fish. I think that's just angler savvy and experience. And I think that on a small boat in particular a short rod might be advantageous. But what do I know?

Rigger rods tend to be tough, to stand up to abuse and being constantly bent over on the riggers. That's why we use glass rather than carbon blanks. IMHO, you don't need a high-priced rod to whup a king. I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer short 7' rigger rods; I find that they're easier to handle, Kids have an easier time with them, too, and I've never had an issue with getting them around other rods or equipment in the spread. We use Shimano Talora TLAF70M for all of our downrigger applications. In the past, we've used a variety of different rods, generally 8 to 8 1/2 foot medium to medium-heavy, including the Daiwa great lakes model you mentioned, and honestly I can't say that I've ever felt a need to go bigger or beefier. In fact, I much prefer fighting fish off the riggers on the short rods than the 9' Dipsy rig. My 2 cents is to save your money and use what you have, unless you're just itching for a change.

This gets my vote. It may very well be genetics, but I doubt it's evolution except in the most loose sense of the word. The same reproductive prematurity is showing up in humans, where girls are entering estrus an/or developing early, and this is suspected to be due in part to environmental impact. All the old meds dumped down the toilet, synthetic chemicals, and plastic nanoparticles are taking a toll. It just takes generations to see. Which is why I'm wearing a doomsday hat lately. It's not the 18-wheeler you see that gets you, it's the guy on the bicycle that you didn't see...